News

20 November 2017

NLMK supplies steel for construction of collider

NLMK Group, an international steel company with operations in Russia, the USA and the European Union, has supplied dynamo steel to Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (based in Dubna) for the construction of a unique accelerator complex in Russia, a NICA collider (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider Facility).

The international NICA complex mega-science project is aimed at studying the properties of nuclear matter at the highest baryonic densities in a lab context. Such matter existed only at the early stages of the evolution of our Universe and in the interiors of neutron stars. The project will enable fundamental matter research at the highest densities and temperatures attainable on Earth.

The 380 tonnes of dynamo steel supplied to the Institute by NLMK will be used to make 186 superconducting electromagnets of the accelerator complex storage ring. This is where heavy ion beams are going to collide at a speed close to the speed of light.

NICA complex

Ilya Gushchin, NLMK Group Vice President, Sales, said:

“NLMK technologies guarantee the highest quality of steel products for different applications. We were selected as suppliers for the NICA project following successful testing of an experimental batch. Tests confirmed the required stability of properties and a very high level of accuracy of the magnetic parameters of our steel. We have many years of experience in manufacturing electrical steel, accounting for over 70% of dynamo steel produced in Russia.”

NLMK Group’s dynamo steel is produced at the Lipetsk site. The Group owns exclusive production technology rights to 27 different grades of electric steels.

Representatives of over 30 countries are involved in the NICA project. Contracts have been signed with many organizations in Russia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, etc. Currently, the infrastructure of the accelerator complex is being set up, and detectors are being manufactured. Pilot launch of the collider is planned for 2020, with ramp-up in 2023.

About NLMK Group

NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world.

NLMK Group’s steel products are used in various industries, from construction and machine building to the manufacturing of power-generation equipment and offshore windmills.

NLMK operates production facilities in Russia, Europe and the United States. The Company’s steel production capacity exceeds 17 million tonnes per year.

NLMK has the most competitive cash cost among global manufacturers and one of the highest profitability levels in the industry. In 9M 2017, the Company generated $7.25 billion in revenue and $1.87 billion in EBITDA. As of 30 September 2017, Net debt/EBITDA stood at 0.3х. The company has an investment grade credit rating from S&P and Fitch.

NLMK’s ordinary shares with a 16% free-float are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (ticker "NLMK") and its global depositary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker "NLMK:LI"). The share capital of the Company is divided into 5,993,227,240 shares with a par value of RUR1. For more details on NLMK shareholder capital, please follow the link.

NLMK Group received the Steel Industry Leadership Award at the prestigious 2016 Platts Global Metals Awards held by S&P Global Platts, a leading international industry analytical periodical.